Advantages

Disadvantages

Inexpensive smooth dark chocolate for under £1

---Why I Buy This---

Like most people I enjoy a tasty treat from time to time. I also like to try and avoid very fatty and sugary snacks such as crisps and chocolate bars but I do feel that if I am buying a 'good' dark chocolate it is a reasonable compromise. This 85% chocolate was found on the Tesco website so I decided to try this one.

---Dark Chocolate---

Dark or plain chocolate is made by adding fat and sugar to cocoa. It is chocolate with no or much less milk than milk chocolate.

---Health Benefits---

Various claims are made on the interent and in the press regarding the health benefits of dark chocolate and it is sometimes classed as one of the 'super foods'. The Telegraph, Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent 07 Feb 2011.

---The Product---

This bar is produced by Tesco. The bar consists of ten thinnish chunks of chocolate which have criss/cross decoration on them. The bar is wrapped in silver foil and then comes inside a sturdy cardboard sleeve/box. The box is mostly dark brown almost black with dark red and wine colour writing on the front proclaiming 85% Cocoa Ivory Coast & Equador Plain Chocolate. There is also an image of a pile of chocolate chunks. Two squares contain 110 calories. The chocolate has a long shelf life - my bar has over 15 months. On the reverse of the packaging is more detailed information. Produced in France. Suitable for vegetarians. Allergy advice - contains soya, may contain milk, cannot guarantee nut free.

These days, like many others, I try and avoid fatty and salty foods so I do not have many conventional snacks such as crisps, cakes and biscuits in the house so am therefore not able to be tempted. However some chocolate is always nice to have and I find these Tesco bars very reasonable for what I would class as good quality chocolate with a high cocoa content, when you would pay 70p or more for a bar of sugary rubbish. The box packaging is a nice touch and is reminiscent of the Lindt chocolate bars. The sturdy box/packet keeps the chocolate clean and fresh if you only eat a little at a time - and you can slide what is left back into the packaging and the chocolate is much better protected than if it only had a paper or plastic covering. The chunks of chocolate are reasonably thin but quite large and square. There are ten chunks per bar and I would usually only have one chuck at a time - so one bar will last me about a week - so I do not think that that is too indulgent. The chocolate itself is very tasty and smooth - it is not sweet as you would expect - but it is not harsh and too bitter as some high cocoa content bars are. it also snaps with a very satisfying 'snap' - which I like and which you do not get with more sugary chocolates. It is also not sickly as some milk chocolate bars are - and you do not feel 'naughty' after eating some - which is a bonus!!